Apparatus and method for making ice in refrigeration equipment

ABSTRACT

An ice maker includes an ice making unit positioned in a refrigerating compartment, an ice making tray positioned in the ice making unit, the ice making tray configured to make ice, an ice bucket configured to store ice from the ice making tray, a cooling duct configured to form a cold air channel through which cold air is discharged to the ice making tray and the ice bucket, a refrigerant pipe configured to form a refrigerant channel and enclosing the cooling duct; and an ice making branch pipe configured to make the water into the ice through heat-exchange, where the ice making branch pipe branches from the refrigerant pipe, and an end portion of the ice making branch pipe is submerged in the water.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2015-0084859, filed Jun. 16, 2015, hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments according to the present invention relate to a method for making ice in refrigeration equipment, and more particularly, to an ice maker for refrigeration equipment suitable for rapidly making ice in an ice making tray by concurrently using both cold air, which is generated using a refrigerant of the refrigeration equipment, and the refrigerant itself, and a method for making ice using such an ice maker.

BACKGROUND

As is well known, refrigeration equipment (e.g., a refrigerator) is equipped with spaces (compartments) for holding foods at a low temperature above or below freezing, and may be divided into a refrigerating compartment which is kept above freezing and a freezing compartment which is kept below freezing, according to a low temperature range.

In recent times, with the increased demand for purified water and ice in the home, the demand for refrigeration equipment in which a water purifier and an ice maker are formed integrally with each other is also increasing. The aforementioned ice maker may be installed in any one of the freezing compartment, the refrigerating compartment, or a door thereof, depending on the design of the refrigeration equipment.

Further, the ice maker may include an ice making tray containing water to be used to make ice and an ice bucket for storing (keeping) the ice transferred from the ice making tray.

In the ice maker, cold air flowing in the ice maker through a duct is used to turn the water contained in the ice making tray into ice. For this, a duct structure for a cold air channel is located between the freezing compartment and the ice maker, and a ventilator for ventilating cold air in the freezing compartment toward the ice maker is installed at one side of the duct structure.

However, the conventional method for making ice using cold air from the freezing compartment inflowing through a duct results in a relatively long ice making time, which causes users of the refrigeration equipment to be dissatisfied.

SUMMARY

In view of the above, embodiments according to the present invention provide an ice making method for refrigeration equipment capable of performing a hybrid way of ice making that brings a refrigerant into contact (thermally into contact) with water using a refrigerant channel while also discharging cold air transferred through a cold air channel to an ice making area at which an ice making tray is installed.

Further, embodiments according to the present invention provide an ice making method for refrigeration equipment capable of enhancing the transparency of ice made using an ice making tray.

The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the aforementioned technical scope, and other technical scope not mentioned above will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description.

Example embodiments of the present disclosure provide an ice maker for refrigeration equipment, including an ice making unit positioned in a refrigerating compartment; an ice making tray positioned in the ice making unit, the ice making tray configured to make ice; an ice bucket configured to store the ice made using the ice making tray; a cooling duct configured to form a cold air channel through which cold air is discharged to the ice making tray and the ice bucket; a refrigerant pipe configured to form a refrigerant channel that encloses the cooling duct; and an ice making branch pipe configured to make the water into the through heat-exchange, wherein the ice making branch pipe branches from one side of the refrigerant pipe, and an end portion of the ice making branch pipe is submerged in the water.

The cooling duct may have a structure for collecting the cold air being discharged and returning the collected cold air to an inlet side of the cooling duct.

The end portion of the ice making branch pipe may have a number of pipe protrusions which are downwardly bent.

The ice making tray may be tilted at an angle that makes transparent ice.

The ice maker for refrigeration equipment may further include a vibrating member configured to minutely vibrate the ice making tray to make transparent ice when the ice making unit executes an ice making mode.

The ice maker for refrigeration equipment may further include a heating member for separating ice that is frozen on a surface of the end portion of the ice making branch pipe.

The heating member for separating ice may be a heater powered by a power supply of the refrigeration equipment.

The ice maker for refrigeration equipment may further include a ventilator configured to ventilate the cold air discharged from the cooling duct toward the ice making tray and the ice bucket.

Example embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a method for making ice in refrigeration equipment, including containing water in an ice making tray; making ice using a hybrid system that includes an indirect cooling system that discharges cold air toward the ice making tray through a cooling duct forming a cold air channel and also including a direct cooling system that transfers a refrigerant to the water through an ice making branch pipe that branches from a refrigerant pipe and has an end portion that is submerged in the water contained in the ice making tray; and storing the ice that is transferred from the ice making tray in an ice bucket by executing a transferring mode using a heating member installed on the surface of the ice making branch pipe.

The cold air may be discharged by the indirect cooling system using a ventilator.

The end portion of the ice making branch pipe may have a number of pipe protrusions which are downwardly bent.

The refrigerant pipe may be installed so that it encloses the cooling duct.

The operation of making ice may include collecting the cold air that is discharged and returning the collected cold air to an inlet side of the cooling duct.

Further example embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method making ice in refrigeration equipment, including containing water in an ice making tray; executing a hybrid ice making mode that discharges cold air transferred through a cold air channel to a cooling area where the ice making tray is installed and that brings a refrigerant into thermal contact with the water using a refrigerant channel; transferring the ice from the ice making tray by executing a transferring mode using a heating member when the hybrid ice making mode is completed; and storing the ice being transferred in an ice bucket.

The contact of the refrigerant with the water may be done via an end portion of an ice making branch pipe that branches off from one side of a refrigerant channel and is submerged in the water.

The end portion of the ice making branch pipe may have a number of pipe protrusions which are downwardly bent.

The method for making ice in refrigeration equipment may further include minutely vibrating the ice making tray using a vibrating member when the ice making tray executes the hybrid ice making mode.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the time needed to make ice may be shortened, and thus the satisfaction of the users who use the refrigeration equipment may increase, by implementing the hybrid way of ice making that brings the refrigerant into thermal contact with the water while discharging the cold air transferred through the cold air channel to the ice making area at which the ice making tray is installed.

In addition, it may be possible to increase the transparency of ice being made by vibrating the water when the hybrid way of making ice using the cold air and refrigerant is executed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an ice maker for refrigeration equipment in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a circuit for operating an ice maker for refrigeration equipment in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing example procedures for making ice in a hybrid way using cold air and refrigerant in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The advantages and features of example embodiments according to the present invention and methods of accomplishing them will be clearly understood from the following description of the embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to those embodiments and may be implemented in various forms. It should be noted that the embodiments are provided to make a full disclosure and also to allow those skilled in the art to know the full scope of the present invention. Therefore, embodiments are to be defined only by the scope of the appended claims.

In the following description, well-known functions and/or structures will not be described in detail if that description would unnecessarily obscure the features of the present invention. Further, the terms described below are defined in consideration of their functions in the embodiments of the present invention and their definitions may vary depending on a user's or operator's intention or practice. Accordingly, the definition may be made on a basis of the content and context throughout the disclosure.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an ice maker for refrigeration equipment in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

With reference to FIG. 1, an ice maker of the present invention may include a cooling duct 102, a refrigerant pipe 104, a ventilator 106, an ice making branch pipe 108, and an ice making unit 114. The ice making unit 114 may be positioned in a refrigerating compartment included in a body of the refrigeration equipment and may include an ice making tray 118 and an ice bucket 124.

First of all, as an example, the cooling duct 102 forms a cold air channel which is extended from a side of the cabinet of the refrigeration equipment, and discharges the cold air chilled to a targeted temperature (e.g., below freezing, e.g., below zero degrees Centigrade) through a refrigerant to the inside (that is, an ice making area) of the ice making unit 114 in which the ice making tray 118 and the ice bucket 124 are installed. To this end, the ventilator 106 (e.g., a fan) for ventilating the cold air is installed between an end of the cooling duct 102 and the inside of the ice making unit 114.

As shown by the direction of the arrows, in the embodiment of FIG. 1, the cooling duct 102 has a structure for collecting the cold air and discharging the cold air to the inside of the ice making unit 114 and to the ice bucket 124. The cold air is returned to an inlet side of the cooling duct 102. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 116 represents a body frame of the ice making unit 114.

In an embodiment, the refrigerant pipe 104 is installed so that it encloses the cooling duct (or is in a shape entwining around the cooling duct) and functions as a refrigerant channel that transfers the refrigerant flowing from the inflowing side of the refrigerant pipe. The ice making branch pipe 108 for making water 120 into ice through heat-exchange is formed at one side of the refrigerant pipe 104 in the form of branch, and an end portion 110 of the pipe 108 is placed so that it is submerged in the water 120 contained in the ice making tray 118.

In an embodiment, the pipe end portion 110 submerged in the water 120, for example, may be in the form of a number of pipe protrusions that protrude downwardly (in the downward direction) and have uniform lengths.

In other words, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the ice maker has a structure for turning water into ice using a hybrid system that combines both an indirect cooling system and a direct cooling system. The indirect cooling system of the hybrid system discharges the cold air toward the ice making tray 118 and the ice bucket 124 in the ice making unit 114 using the cooling duct 102 and the ventilator 106 to form a cold air channel. The direct cooling system of the hybrid system directly transfers the refrigerant to the water 120 through the ice making branch pipe 108 that branches from one side of the refrigerant pipe 104 and has the pipe end portion 110 that is submerged under the water 120 contained in the ice making tray 118.

In this embodiment, a hybrid ice making mode is defined as a mode of ice making by discharging cold air transferred through a cold air channel to an ice making area where the ice making tray 118 is installed and by bringing the refrigerant into contact with (thermal contact with) the inside of the water 120 using the cold air channel.

The heating member 112 for separating ice frozen on the end portion 110 is located on a surface of the end portion 110 that is formed on one side of the ice making branch pipe 108 in the form of a number of pipe protrusions that are downwardly bent. As an example, the heating member 112 may include a heater and other related elements.

Accordingly, after an ice making mode is ended, a mode for separating ice is executed by heating a heater (heating member) using power supplied from a power source of the refrigeration equipment. Therefore, it is possible to separate (detach, or remove) the ice that is frozen on the end portion, and the separated ice is downwardly dropped and then is stored (kept) in the ice bucket 124.

In this embodiment, the ice making tray 118 has a predetermined amount of tilt (angle) to make the ice transparent, so that the water flows downward when it flows into the ice making tray 118. Therefore, the transparency of the ice is increased.

In addition, the vibrating member 122 may be installed at one side (for example, at the side, or at the bottom face) of the ice making tray 118 containing the water 120 which is to be made into ice. The vibrating member 122 minutely vibrates the ice making tray 118 when the ice making unit 114 executes the hybrid ice making mode. Accordingly, transparency of the ice is further increased by making the water 120 vibrate (wave) as a result of the minute vibration of the vibrating member 122.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a circuit for operating an ice maker for refrigeration equipment in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, in which the circuit may include a first sensing unit 202, a second sensing unit 204, a water supply execution unit 208, an ice making execution unit 210, a vibrating veneration unit 212, and an ice separation execution unit 214.

With reference to FIG. 2, the first sensing unit 202 may be a sensor for measuring a quantity of water (water used to make ice) supplied from a water storage tank (not shown) to the ice making tray 118, and may provide a function for detecting when the quantity of water targeted to be supplied is contained in the ice making tray 118 and then transferring that information to a controller 206.

The second sensing unit 204 may detect whether or not the water 120 contained in the ice making tray 118 is frozen. For example, the second sensing unit 204 may detect that ice making is completed (ended) by counting the amount of time during which the hybrid ice making mode is executed and then identifying when that amount of time reaches a predetermined reference time, or by correlating an ice making temperature with an ice making time. The detected ice making completion may then be signaled to the controller 206.

The controller 206, for example, may refer to a microprocessor performing overall operational control of the refrigeration equipment. The controller 206 may issue a valve shutoff command to shut off a water supply valve (not shown) of a water supply pipe supplying the water to the ice making tray 118 when completion of the water supply is detected by the first sensing unit 202 and may transfer the command to the water supply execution unit 208. The controller 206 may also issue a valve-opening command to open the water supply valve of the water supply pipe when a water supplying mode is started for supplying the water and transfer the command to the water supply execution unit 208.

Further, the controller 206 may issue a vibration command to minutely vibrate the ice making tray 118 when the hybrid ice making mode is running according to the present invention, and may transfer the command to the vibrating generation unit 212.

In addition, the controller 206 may issue an ice making end command to end the hybrid ice making mode when ice making completion is detected by the second sensing unit 204 and may transfer that command to the ice making execution unit 210. At the same time, the controller 206 may issue an ice separation command to separate the ice frozen on the end portion 110 of the ice making branch pipe 108 and may provide that command to the ice separation execution unit 214. The controller 206 may also issue an ice making command to execute the hybrid ice making mode concurrently using the cold air and refrigerant when the hybrid ice making mode is started and may transfer that command to the ice making execution unit 210.

The water supply execution unit 208 may issue a water supply control signal (a valve-opening signal) to open a water supply valve of the water supply pipe when receiving the valve-opening signal, to start a water supply mode from the controller 206 and thus allow the water to be supplied to the ice making tray 118. Also, the water supply execution unit 208 may provide a control function to shut off the water supply valve of the water supply pipe when a valve shut off command is received from the controller 206.

The ice making execution unit 210 may provide a control function to make ice by discharging the cold air transferred through the cold air channel to the ice making area at which the ice making tray 118 is installed and by bringing the refrigerant into contact with the water using the refrigerant channel when the ice making command for executing the hybrid ice making mode is received.

In addition, the ice making execution unit 210 may provide a control function to end execution of the hybrid ice making mode using the cold air and refrigerant when the ice making end command is received from the controller 206.

The vibrating generation unit 212 may control vibration of the vibrating member 122 using a vibrating command transferred from the controller 206 when the hybrid ice making mode is executed.

Meanwhile, the ice separation execution unit 214 may provide a control function to separate ice frozen on the end portion 110 when the ice separation command is received from the controller 206 when ice making is completed. As an example, the ice separation execution unit 214 may provide a control function to separate (detach, or remove) the ice by heating the heating member 112 formed on a surface of the end portion 110. The heating member 112 may be in the form of a tape.

Hereinafter, a description will be made of a series of procedures for making water into ice through a hybrid process that concurrently uses the cold air and refrigerant in an ice maker for refrigeration equipment, the ice maker having the structure described above according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing procedures for making ice in a hybrid way using cold air and refrigerant in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

With reference to FIG. 3, at operation 302, the water supply executing unit 208 performs a water supply mode and issues a water supply control signal (a valve-opening signal), and allows the water to be supplied to the ice making tray 118 by opening a water supply valve of a water supply pipe if a water supply opening command is transferred from the controller 206, and shuts off the water supply valve of the water supply pipe if a valve shut off command is transferred from the controller 206.

Next, at operation 304, the controller 206 issues an ice making command to execute a hybrid ice making mode concurrently using the cold air and refrigerant and then transfers the command to the ice making execution unit 210. In response, at operation 306, the ice making execution unit 210 carries out the hybrid ice making mode in which the cold air transferred through the cooling duct 102 is discharged using the ventilator 106 to the ice making area where the ice making tray 118 is installed, and the refrigerant is brought into contact (thermal contact) with the water 120 contained in the ice making tray 118 or the end portion 110 that is submerged in the water using the ice making branch pipe 108 branched from the refrigerant pipe 104.

While the hybrid ice making mode is running, the vibrating generation unit 212 operates the vibrating member installed at one side of the ice making tray 118 according to a vibrating command transferred from the controller 206. Consequently, the ice making tray 118 may be minutely vibrated, which minutely vibrates the water to increase the transparency of the ice.

Next, when an ice making completion detection signal is inputted from the second sensing unit 204 at operation 308, the controller 206 issues an ice making end command in response to the ice making completion detection signal and transfers the command to the ice making execution unit 210. The controller 206 also issues an ice separation command and transfers that command to the separation execution unit 214, at operation 310. As a result, execution of the hybrid ice making models ended by the ice making execution unit 210, at operation 312.

Thereafter, in response to the ice separation command from the controller 206, the separation execution unit 214 functions to separate the ice frozen on the end portion 110 of the ice making branch pipe 108. That is, an ice separation mode is executed to separate (detach, or remove) the ice, for example, by heating the heating member 112 formed on a surface of the end portion 110 in the form of a tape, at operation 314. By performing the ice separation mode, the ice separated (detached, removed) from the ice making tray 118 is dropped and is stored in the ice bucket 124, at operation 316. The ice stored in the ice bucket 124 may be discharged the outside of the refrigeration equipment through an ice discharging port of a dispenser (not shown) formed in the door of the refrigeration equipment.

The explanation as set forth above merely describes a technical idea of example embodiments of the present invention, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art to which this invention belongs that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the essential characteristics of the embodiments of the present invention. Therefore, the example embodiments disclosed herein are not to be used to limit the technical idea of the present invention, but to explain the present invention, and the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be construed as defined in the following claims, and changes, modifications and equivalents that fall within the technical idea of the present invention are intended to be embraced by the scope of the claims of the present invention. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An ice maker for refrigeration equipment, comprising: an ice making unit positioned in a refrigerating compartment of the refrigeration equipment; an ice making tray positioned in the ice making unit, the ice making tray configured to make ice; an ice bucket configured to store the ice made using the ice making tray; a cooling duct configured to form a cold air channel through which cold air is discharged to the ice making tray and the ice bucket; a refrigerant pipe configured to form a refrigerant channel and enclosing the cooling duct; and an ice making branch pipe configured to make water into the ice through heat-exchange, wherein the ice making branch pipe branches from the refrigerant pipe, and an end portion of the ice making branch pipe is submerged in the water.
 2. The ice maker for refrigeration equipment of claim 1, wherein the cooling duct has a structure for collecting the cold air being discharged and returning the collected cold air to an inlet side of the cooling duct.
 3. The ice maker for refrigeration equipment of claim 1, wherein the end portion of the ice making branch pipe has a number of pipe protrusions which are downwardly bent.
 4. The ice maker for refrigeration equipment of claim 1, wherein the ice making tray is tilted at an angle that makes transparent ice.
 5. The ice maker for refrigeration equipment of claim 1, further comprising: a vibrating member configured to minutely vibrate the ice making tray when the ice making unit executes an ice making mode.
 6. The ice maker for refrigeration equipment of claim 1, further comprising: a heating member for separating ice that is frozen on a surface of the end portion.
 7. The ice maker for refrigeration equipment of claim 6, wherein the heating member comprises a heater powered by a power supply of the refrigeration equipment.
 8. The ice maker for refrigeration equipment of claim 1, further comprising: a ventilator configured to ventilate the cold air discharged from the cooling duct toward the ice making tray and the ice bucket.
 9. A method for making ice in refrigeration equipment, the method comprising: containing water in an ice making tray; making ice from the water in the ice making tray using a hybrid system comprising an indirect cooling system that discharges cold air toward the ice making tray through a cooling duct forming a cold air channel and also comprising a direct cooling system that transfers a refrigerant to the water through an ice making branch pipe that branches from a refrigerant pipe and has an end portion that is submerged in the water in the ice making tray; and storing the ice that is transferred from the ice making tray in an ice bucket by executing a transferring mode using a heating member installed on the surface of the ice making branch pipe.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the cold air is discharged by the indirect cooling system using a ventilator.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein the end portion has a number of pipe protrusions which are downwardly bent.
 12. The method of claim 9, wherein the refrigerant pipe encloses the cooling duct.
 13. The method of claim 9, wherein said making ice comprises: collecting the cold air that is discharged and returning the collected cold air to an inlet side of the cooling duct.
 14. A method for making ice in refrigeration equipment, the method comprising: containing water in an ice making tray; executing a hybrid ice making mode that discharges cold air transferred through a cold air channel to a cooling area where the ice making tray is installed and that brings a refrigerant into thermal contact with the water using a refrigerant channel; transferring the ice from the ice making tray by executing a transferring mode using a heating member when the hybrid ice making mode is completed; and storing the ice being transferred in an ice bucket.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein an end portion of an ice making branch pipe that branches from a refrigerant channel is submerged in the water to bring the refrigerant in thermal contact with the water.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the end portion of the ice making branch pipe has a number of pipe protrusions which are downwardly bent.
 17. The method of claim 14, further comprising: minutely vibrating the ice making tray using a vibrating member when the ice making tray executes the hybrid ice making mode. 